1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for the transmission of data.
More particularly, the invention relates to a coupling device for the transmission of optical data.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Data transmission lines which are suitable for transmitting encoded light signals via optical waveguides consist, according to the state of the art as known from practice, of a central support element, on which the oversheaths for the individual optical waveguides are supported. The optical waveguides per se, which in most cases consist of optical fibres, are disposed individually in said oversheaths which are encompassed by a common foil braiding, a textile tape and a further common protective sheath made from caoutchouc material. Data transmission lines arranged in such a way are known as "hollow-cored conductors" in the field of the art as a result of the individual arrangement of each optical waveguide in a separate oversheath. The reason for the extensive protection of the individual fibres in such data transmission lines is due to the fact that the individual fibres are to be kept free from any mechanical stress through the protective sheath and that any penetration of the line by liquids is to be prevented.
In addition to data transmission lines arranged as hollow-cored conductors, lines with optical waveguides are known in which a plurality of individual fibres are disposed in a common oversheath as so-called "buffered fibres". Such buffered fibres are used, for example, in the fields of surgery or microcamera technique for transmitting light from a constantly burning light source at a place that is difficult to access.
A coupling element which is suitable for connecting data lines of the kind mentioned above is known from the German patent specification DE 31 13 168 C2. This coupling element concerns a cable connector which is arranged in such a way that the optical waveguides opening into it can be guided in a radius which prevents damaging them. The known cable connector is provided with recesses in which modularly arranged transducer circuits are insertable. The transducer circuits convert the light signals transmitted through the optical waveguides directly into electrical signals and are provided with connections over which the transducer circuits can be connected to a device for further processing the electrical signals supplied by them.
Finally, from the German patent specification DE 31 16 252 A1 an optoelectronic transducer is known which can be plugged into a line comprising an optical waveguide. This transducer is provided with an outer and inner sleeve which jointly ensure that the sensor of the transducer which is arranged in a disk-like manner is arranged in a centered manner with respect to the face side of the optical waveguide.
Apparatuses for transmitting encoded light signals which are equipped with the above-mentioned individual elements have shown to be particularly sturdy and hardly susceptible to faults in practice. Their common disadvantage, however, is that considerable efforts are required concerning their production, both with respect to the material as well as the technical requirements. As a consequence they are expensive and, in particular, the known hollow-cored conductors are not recyclable owing to the large number of the materials used in their production. The high costs in these known apparatuses have lead to the consequence that they are only used in very few high-quality applications. In contrast to this, in the field of rapid parallel data transmission, for example, where a plurality of individual lines is required, common copper cables are still used. The length of such copper cables, however, is limited. In the case of larger transmission lengths, however, the much slower serial data transmission is used in practice instead of the faster parallel data transmission, with optical fibres being used advantageously for larger transmission lengths.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an easy-to-manufacture, inexpensive apparatus of the kind mentioned above which enables a fast, fault-free transmission of encoded light signals.